J Natl Med Assoc
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Comparative Study
Attitudes toward condom use and AIDS among patients from an urban family practice center.
As part of an effort to better educate patients about using condoms, a survey was done to assess the sexual practices, attitudes toward acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and condom use by patients who visit an urban family practice center. A self-administered questionnaire was given to 126 patients of whom the majority were black and single. Seventeen percent indicated they had sex with more than one person in the 3 months before the survey. ⋯ Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed believed that a man's penis may be too large for a condom and 18% believed that uncircumcised men could not use condoms. Forty-five percent believed they should be screened for human immune deficiency virus exposure. The results highlight attitudes and beliefs that may function as barriers to condom use and should be addressed when encouraging condom use with this population.
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The epidemiology of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States is reviewed. Hypertension and diabetes as etiologic factors in ESRD in minorities are discussed, as is the question of a familial ESRD. It is hypothesized that diuretics as sole antihypertensive therapy in blacks may in the long term result in chronic volume contraction, increased sympathetic stimulation, and therefore, decreased renal function. As such, a rational basis for the long-term use of diuretics as the sole antihypertensive therapeutic in blacks becomes questionable at best.